Gasolene-supply reservoir for motor-vehicles.



W. J. HOTCHKISS GASOLENE SUPPLY RESERVOIR FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION HLED NOV. 18. I914.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. J. HOTCHKISS. GASOLENE SUPPLY RESERVOIR FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

- APPLICATION FILED NOV. I8. I914. 1,168,636.

Patfited Jan. 18. 1916.

2 smzUs-suzn 2.

awe/whom WJ HOTC-HK 18S WALLACE J. I-IOTGHKISS OF ALPENA,

SOUTH DAKOTA.

GASOLENE-SUPPLY RESERVOIR FOR MOTOR-VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 18, 1916.

Application filed November 18, 1914. Serial No. 872,871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lVALLAcn J. Ho'rcrr- Kiss, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Alpena, in the county of Jerauld and State of SouthDakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inGasoleneSupply Reservoirs for Motor-Vehicles, of which the following isa specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain improvements in gasolene supplyreservoirs for motor vehicles and, generically stated, has for itsprincipal object to provide a convenient arrangement and mounting of oneor more gasolene tanks or reservoirs upon the body of the vehicle sothat a huge supply of fuel may be carried and, owing to the location ofthe reservoir with respect to the engine, liability of explosion of thefuel supply is practically eliminated.

Considered in its more specific aspect, my present invention provides animproved reservoir construction and mounting arranged upon the underside of the wheel guard of the machine whereby the reservoir may beeasily and quickly filled or supplied with gasolene, and the reservoiritself practically entirely hidden from View so that the same will notdetract from the appearance of the car or vehicle.

t is a further object of my invention to provide a device of the abovecharacter having the advantageous features noted, which may be readilyapplied to the ordinary motor vehicle as at present constructed, and mayalso be manufactured at comparatively small cost.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in thenovel features of construction, combination, and arrange- 1118M. ofparts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed, and illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the forward end of the motor vehicle,the mud guard being shown in section and having my invention appliedthereto; Fig. 2 is a longitiulinal section showing the reservoir in itslowered position to be filled; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33of Fig. 1; Fig. l is a section taken on the line H of Fig. 9; Fig. 5 isan enlarged vertical section through the rear end of the reservoirillustrating the manner of draining the gasolcne therefrom; Fig. 6

is a section taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a detailfragmentary perspective view illustrating the manner of mountmg thereservoir upon the flange of the mud guard.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 5 designates a mud guard such as isusually provided upon the ordinary motor vehicle to extend over the topof the vehicle wheel. This guard includes the inner depending flange orwall 6 by means of which the guard is secured to the body of the vehicleby suitable bolts indicated at 7.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I provide a reservoirgenerally des ignated by the numeral 8. This reservoir is approximatelyof the same curvature as the mud guard 5 and is preferably constructedof sheet metal. The reservoir has double longitudinal side walls 9,whereby a longitudinally extending air space or chamber is formed uponeach side of the reservoir. It is to be noted that the reservoir tapersor is gradually redu d in depth to- Ward its rear end. At the orward endof the reservoir, the same is provided with a top section indicated at.10, whicn is disposed below the upper edge of the side walls. Thefilling pipe or tube 11 is centrally fixed in this wall section 10 andis adapted to be closed by a plug 12 which is threaded therein. Thisplug has a flange 13 formed upon its other end upon the under side ofwhich a washer 14 of rubber or other suitable material is secured so asto provide a fluid tight connection between said plug and the upper endof the tube 11.

In the bottom wall of the reservoir at its rear end, a drainage tube 15is fixed, said tube being interiorly threaded to receive a hollowclosure plug 16. It will be noted that the wall of this plug is providedwith an opening 17, and this opening is adapted to coincide with asimilar opening 18 in the wall of the tube 15 whereby the'contents ofthe reservoir are permitted to escape or drain therefrom: The lower endof the pluglG is also provided with an annular flange 19 upon which thewasher 20 is secured. lV hen the plug is threaded into the tube 15, theopening in the wall of said plug is disposed out of registration withthe opening in the wall of the tube 15 whereby the escape of thecontents of the reservoir is prevented. Upon the rear end of the .ofmetal which i is reservoir a bracket plate 21 is secured, said platehaving a depending flange 22 provided upon its opposite ends withinturned lugs or ears 23 which form guides between which one end of adirecting member or funnel 24: is adapted to be engaged. Thisfunnel'member is formed from a single sheet tapers longitudinally andprovided upon its opposite edges with and a central longitudinally extending groove 26. When the closure plug in the tube is threadedoutwardly to'aline the openings 17 and 18, the gasolenein the reservoirwill escape through said openings into the funnel member, from which thegasolene is directed into a suitable receptacle arranged beneath thesame. After the reservoir has thus been drained of its contents, thefunnel member is detached or re.- moved from the bracket 21.

flanges 25 The outer sheet metalplate of one of the double side walls ofthe reservoir is provided adjacent to its outen' end with the curved orarcuate slots 27.' Upon the de-- pending flange 6 of the mud guard, thelugs 28 are secured. These lugs project through the slots 27 and in eachlug alocking plate or key 29 is secured. The guide lugs are,

' of course, first mounted in the wall of the the filling nozzle mayreservoir and then secured to the mud guard. It is thus apparent thatthe reservoir is mounted to have a limited vertical movement withrespect to the mud guard. In order to prevent such movement and securelyhold said reservoir in a raised position against the under side of theguard, I provide one or more brackets each of which includes a plate 30hinged at one of its ends as shown at 31, to the lower edge of theflange 6 of the mud guard. This plate extends beneath the reservoir andoutw ardly and has formed upon its outer enda semi-. cylindrical arm orextension 32 which projects at right angles to the plane of the plate30. This arm is provided adjacent to its extremity with an openingindicated at 33 for the purpose of receiving one of the bolts 7 wherebythe mud guard is fastened upon the body of the vehicle. A nut 34 is, ofcourse, threaded upon the end of the bolt to hold the bracket member .inconnection therewith. One of these brackets, arranged adjacent theforward end of the reservoir, will usually be found sufficient toproperly support the reservoir in position against the under side of themud guard, although, if desired, two or more of the supporting bracketsmay be employed.

It will be observed that the forward end of the reservoir projects inadvance of the end of the mud guard, whereby access to be readilyobtained. The plug or closure of this nozzle, when the same is in place,is disposed below the plane of the top body wall of the reservoir,

and upon the forward end of the mud guard a covervplate 35 is hinged asat 36, said plate being formed with a flange 37 which is adapted to restwithin the forward end wall of the reservoir. This flange is pref-'erably provided with a staple 38 to receive a hasp on the reservoir andis designed to receive the shackle of a padlock, whereby access to thefilling nozzle may be prevented.

In this manner, the owner of the automoble may prevent the use of themachine by thus rendering it impossible to supply the reservoir withgasolene or other fuel. A supply tube or conduit 39 is connected to theinterior of the reservoir at its rear end through one of the side wallsthereof, to supply the' fuel to the carbureter of the engine.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction and manner of operation ofstood. When it is desired to fill the reservoir, the bracket member isdisconnected from the bolt 7 and allowed to hang downwardly below themud guard. The reservoir will then drop or fall to a point below theguard, the extent of such movement being determined by the length ofthe-slots 27 in the side walls of the reservoir. The forward end of thereservoir is then lowered into convenient position to enable the sameto-be filled through the tube or pipe from which the closure plug hasbeen removed. In view of the fact that this for-' ward end of thereservoir curves down wardly, as the gasolene is poured into the same,the reservoir must be raised so that the gasolene will flow backwardlyinto the rear end thereof. After the reservoir has been filled and thefilling tube closed, the same is held against the under side of the mudguard and the bracket member again arranged in position, the plate 30being engaged upon the under side of 'the reservoir and directlysupporting the same. When the nut 34: has been threaded inwardly uponthe bolt 7 to engage the upstanding arm of the bracket member, saidmember will be securely held in position and the-reservoir properlysupported to prevent movement thereof with relation to the mud guard.

the device will be readily under- From the foregoing, it will be seenthat I I have produced a very simply constructed, highly serviceable,and desirable reservoir construction and mounting for motor vehicleswhereby a large supply of gasolene may be carried on the car: Theseveral parts of the device are all of a simple form and may, therefore,be produced at comparatively small manufacturing cost. It is also to beobserved that in the application of my invention, no materialalterations are required in the construction of the vehicle. Byarranging the reservoir under the guard the same is inconspicuous andwill not,

therefore, detract from the appearance of the vehicle. It is, of course,manifest that the reservoir may be constructed in various shapes toconform with the particular shape of the mud guard which may be providedupon the vehicle. The reservoir can also be constructed in any desiredlength and of any capacity.

.Vhile I have above described the preferred construction and arrangementof the several elements employed, it is to be under stood that the.device is susceptible of con siderable modification therein, and Itherefore reserve the privilege of resorting to all such legitimatechanges as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim andsecure by Letters Patent, is:-

l. The combination with a support, of a reservoir mounted for bodilyvertical movement on the support and having a filling opening in one endaccessible in the lowered position of the reservoir, means for retainingthe reservoir in an elevated position upon the support, and additionalmeans to seal the filling opening and preventing access thereto in thelatter position of the reservoir.

2. The combination with the mud guard of a vehicle, conforming to thelongitudinal contour of said guard and having a filling opening, andmeans for mounting the reservoir upon the under side of the'guard forlimi ed vertical movement with respect thereto, whereby the reservoirmay be moved into position to be filled.

3. The combination with a support, of a reservoir bodily movable uponthe support and having a filling opening in one end unobstructed by thesupport when the reservoir. is disposed in a lowered position thereon,means on the support for retaining said reservoir in an elevatedposition thereon, and additional means on the support adapted to projectover said filling opening in the latter position of the reservoir andprevent access thereto.

at. The combination with of a. vehicle, of a reservoir conforming to thelongitudinal contour of said guard, means for mounting the reservoirupon the under side of the guard for limited vertical movement withrespect thereto, and means for clamping the reser voir against the underside of the guard to hold the same against movement with respectthereto.

The combination with the mud guard of a vehicle, of a reservoir movablymounted beneath the top of the mud guard and extending longitudinallythereof, said reservoir having a filling opening in its forward the mudguard of a reservoir approximately of a vehicle,

approximately end accessible in one position of the reservoir, and meansfor supporting the reservoir upon the mud guard against movement withrespect thereto and in such position that the top wall of the guardextends over the filling opening whereby access to the latter isprevented.

6. The combination with the mud guard of a vehicle, of a reservoirapproximately conforming to the longitudinal contour of said guard,means for mounting the reservoir upon the guard for vertical movement,said reservoir having a filling "opening accessible in one position ofthe reservoir, and means for securing the reservoir in place againstsuch vertical'movement with respect to the guard, whereby the guard willpre vent access to the filling opening.

v 7. The combination with the mud guard of a vehicle, of a reservoirmounted upon said guard for limited vertical movement with respectthereto, whereby the reservoir may be moved to position to be filled,and a clamping device on the guard to securely clamp the reservoir inposition, whereby the guard will prevent access to the filling openingof the reservoir.

. 8. The combination with the mud guard of'a vehicle, of a reservoirapproximately conforming to the longitudinal contour of the guard, meansfor mounting the reservoir upon the guard for vertical movement withrespect thereto, and a clamping bracket hingedly connected to the guardto securely clamp the reservoir upon the same against such verticalmovement.

9. The combination with the mud guard of av reservoir approximatelyconforming to the longitudinal contour of the guard, means for mountingthe reservoir beneath the guard for vertical movement with respectthereto, and a clamping device .hingedly connected to the guard andadapted to support the reservoir against the under side of the guard andprevent movement of the same with respect to the guard.

10. The combination with the mud guard of a motor vehicle having adepending flange, of a reservoir mounted upon said flange for limitedvertical movement, and means connected to the flange to extend beneaththe reservoir and clamp the same against the under side of the guard tosecure the reservoir in place against movement with respect to saidguard.

11. The combination with the mud guard of a motor vehicle having adepending flange, of a reservoir flange for limited vertical movement,said reservoir extending approximately the en-' tire length of theguard, and a clamping bracket hingedly connected at one of its ends tothe guard flange and adapted to extend beneath the reservoir toclamping-1y hold the same against the under side of the guard andmounted upon said v ,in contact with "one wall prevent movement of saidreservoir with-"respect to the guard.

12. The combination with the mud guard of a vehicle, of a reservoirmounted upon the under side of'said guard and extending'in advance ofits forward end, the forward end of said reservoir being provided with afilling nozzle, and a cover plate. hingedly a over the filling openingwhereby access to said opening is prevented.

14:. The combination with a support, of a reservoir mounted for verticalmovement on said support and provided with a filling nozzle at one end,and means mounted'on the support adapted to be extended over said nozzleto cenceal the same and secured to the I end of the reservoir to sustainsaid reservoir messes in ens position against movement with respect tosaid support.

15. The combination with the mud guard of a vehicle, reservoir means formount upon the under side of 3- ing said resersoir said guard {orvertical movement with re spect thereto, and means mounted upon the mudguard adapted to be connected to the forward end of the reservoir whenthe reservoir is elevated into contact with the top wall of the guard. p

16. The combination with the mud guard of a vehicle, of a reservoirmounted upon the under side of said guard for vertical. movement andprovided with a means on the mud guard to support the reservoir in anelevated position in engagement with the top wall of the guard, andadditional means mounted upon the mud guard adapted to be extended overthe filling nozzle to conceal the same and secured to the reservoir toconstitute supplementary supporting means.

In testimony AJMANWARING, 'D. W. Lreanene.

filling nozzle, 45

whereof I hereunto aiiiz; my u slgnature in the presence of twowitnesses.

